Foundation Establishment was considered a decent level of cultivation in the current world of immortal cultivation. Yet in ancient times, that era when great cultivators roamed freely, it was no different from an ant.
Mo Tiange gazed at the Divine Dragon Stele before her, feeling for the first time how insignificant she was—as insignificant as a single drop of water in the vast sea. And the sea was so boundless that with just one wave, she would vanish beneath the surface.
This was the might of an ancient Divine Beast, even if it was merely a remnant wisp of its aura.
Let alone a Foundation Establishment cultivator, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would be unable to resist under such pressure.
"Junior Brother Ye!"
Hearing Jiang Shanghang's voice, Mo Tiange snapped out of her reverie and sighed. "No wonder it's called the Breath of the Divine Dragon. Such immense power..."
But Jiang Shanghang said, "If Junior Brother Ye enters that Underground Palace, you'll find the Breath of the Divine Dragon inside is even stronger."
"An even stronger Breath of the Divine Dragon..." Mo Tiange pondered. A stronger Breath of the Divine Dragon meant the Underground Palace was no ordinary place; it was likely extremely dangerous. What kind of treasure could make Ren Yufeng scheme against her even before entering?
"Forget it, no point thinking about it now. Let's go in first." Mo Tiange looked around and asked Jiang Shanghang, "Senior Brother Jiang, where is the entrance to the Underground Palace?"
Jiang Shanghang led her around the Divine Dragon Stele. On the flat ground, there was a pitch-black hole. If one wasn't paying attention, they might mistake it for a cave dug by some sea creature.
"Here?"
"Mm." Jiang Shanghang said, "This opening definitely wasn't opened by proper means. Perhaps it was exposed because it was attracted by the same Breath of the Divine Dragon present here."
Many secret places started off hidden and unknown, but nothing could withstand the passage of time. Slowly, the original power would fade. This Underground Palace was likely the same.
The two of them each checked the items they carried, prepared themselves, and then, with Jiang Shanghang taking the lead, slowly descended into the entrance of the Underground Palace.
A dark space, a narrow stone passage—no different from an underground palace on land.
The moment they entered the Underground Palace, their minds went momentarily blank because the Breath of the Divine Dragon was denser here. Such a sacred, vast aura carrying ancient pressure made minor cultivators like them tremble with fear under its weight.
After silently regulating her breathing for a while, Mo Tiange finally calmed her mind. Even under the effects of the Refining Spirit Art, she still felt deeply awed.
Jiang Shanghang, also looking solemn, whispered, "Junior Brother Ye, be careful. This path isn't the proper entrance; there might be traps."
Mo Tiange asked, "How far did you get last time?"
"Last time, apart from Senior Brother Ren, we only reached here." As he spoke, they had already passed through the long stone passage and entered a stone chamber.
This stone chamber was extremely tall, deep, and vast. There was no light from the entrance here anymore; relying only on the faint moonlight stones the two carried, they couldn't see the end. The chamber also contained nothing else. It didn't look like a hall or an audience chamber; it seemed merely like a wider stone passage.
"The Water Carp Beast originally dwelled here, who knows for how many years." Jiang Shanghang slowly swam to inspect the four walls as he spoke.
Mo Tiange said, "Judging by the appearance of this stone chamber, it's at least something from over ten thousand years ago. That Water Carp Beast was only fifth-rank; no matter how long it lived, it couldn't possibly reach ten thousand years, right?"
Jiang Shanghang was taken aback, then nodded. "Right. Could it be that the Water Carp Beast wasn't originally from this Underground Palace?"
"Possibly. Didn't you say it completely ignored the restrictions around the Divine Dragon Stele?"
The two exchanged a glance and fell silent again. If the Water Carp Beast wasn't originally a guardian spirit beast of this Underground Palace, then either this place had no guardian spirit beasts at all, or whatever was here was far more dangerous than the Water Carp Beast.
If it was the former, things would be simpler. They could just press forward and kill Ren Yufeng. But if it was the latter... it was simply not something Foundation Establishment cultivators like them could challenge, and they would only be throwing their lives away for nothing.
The two each pondered for a while. Jiang Shanghang was the first to lose patience and asked, "Junior Brother Ye, what do you think about this?"
Mo Tiange slowly said after some thought, "Actually, there's nothing to be afraid of. Those eight are walking ahead. If there's any danger, we can just retreat quickly, right?"
What she was really thinking was, surely they wouldn't even lack the time to enter the Void Heaven Realm? Jiang Shanghang's cultivation was lower than hers; she had several methods to knock him unconscious instantly and then bring him into the Void Heaven Realm.
Jiang Shanghang hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. "That's true. So we follow behind them?"
"Mm. Let's proceed for a while first. If we confirm there's no danger, we can go elsewhere."
Jiang Shanghang nodded in agreement. The two set off once more.
This indeed wasn't a stone chamber but a wide stone passage. This passage was very long; they walked slowly for a long time without reaching the end. Fortunately, there were traces left by the eight people ahead along the way. They didn't dare to use movement techniques, partly for fear of being discovered by the other eight, and partly because they worried there might be dangers here.
Judging from the traces along the way, the eight ahead had also engaged in several battles, though not against demonic beasts. It seemed more like they had encountered some mechanisms and issues with collapsed pathways.
Fortunately, with these people clearing the way, Mo Tiange and Jiang Shanghang encountered no dangers on their journey.
After walking silently for a long time, they finally entered a grand hall. The tall, heavy stone doors were half-open, carved with dragon patterns similar to those on the Divine Dragon Stele. Stepping through the hall entrance, towering stone pillars supported the entire hall, and neat stone slabs covered the floor, all painted with the same dragon shapes.
Walking slowly inward, a towering stone statue gradually appeared in the darkness. Deer antlers, ox horns, camel head, rabbit eyes, snake neck, clam belly, fish scales, eagle claws—its presence was immense, as if piercing straight into the azure clouds.
A Divine Dragon Statue! This grand hall actually enshrined a Divine Dragon Statue!
Mo Tiange and Jiang Shanghang exchanged a glance, both speechless. The aura emanating from this Divine Dragon Statue was even stronger than that of the Divine Dragon Stele. This pressure almost robbed them of their voices.
Retreating a little, Mo Tiange let out a breath. "This is no ordinary place."
Jiang Shanghang, his face pale, nodded. The two retreated almost to the doorway before the pressure lessened.
After a moment of shared silence, Mo Tiange suddenly said, "Senior Brother Jiang, in your opinion, what exactly is this place?"
Jiang Shanghang turned to look at her, puzzled. "What do you mean, Junior Brother Ye?"
Mo Tiange turned sideways, pointing at the shallow carvings on the back of the stone door. "Look, what is this carved?"
Jiang Shanghang, full of questions, approached for a closer look. "This is just ordinary murals. If this is a relic from over ten thousand years ago, having these things isn't strange."
"True, but look at what's depicted on them."
Jiang Shanghang turned to look. After a moment, he was startled. "This is..."
"A sacrificial scene from millions of years ago," Mo Tiange said calmly. "This might be an ancient sacrificial temple."
Legend had it that ancient sacrificial temples were built in the style of palaces. Although crude, if viewed on a larger scale, this Underground Palace was indeed a magnificent palace. The wide stone passage might be a corridor leading to the true hall. These stone walls were carved with murals, with few words, because in that era, writing had just emerged, and people were accustomed to recording events with murals.
On this mural, there was a tall sacrificial altar with several priests standing on it, all wearing identical white robes. Below, kneeling men and women were clad in simple animal skins—only ancient humans would wear animal skins.
"Millions of years..." Jiang Shanghang's face turned slightly pale, unbelieving. Finally, he asked, "Could a relic from millions of years ago possibly survive until now? And why would it be in the sea?"
Mo Tiange smiled and said, "Senior Brother Jiang, there's an old saying: 'White clouds turn to gray dogs, the blue sea turns to mulberry fields.' Over millions of years, what was once the blue sea has now become mulberry fields. An ancient sacrificial temple could also have been buried in the sea. Perhaps precisely because it sank into the sea, untouched for millions of years, it could be preserved until now."
Running her hand over the rough stone wall, silently feeling the passage of such distant time, both of them were momentarily speechless.
"Millions of years... Then there are probably no treasures in this Underground Palace at all..." Jiang Shanghang murmured, a flash of disappointment in his eyes. Over millions of years, any Magical Treasure would have lost its efficacy—don't think that Magical Treasures and pills can truly last forever; that's simply impossible.
"Correct." Mo Tiange wasn't disappointed; she hadn't come for treasures in the first place. After a moment's thought, she frowned. "Wait, that's not right. There are treasures here."
Jiang Shanghang looked up, puzzled. "What?"
Mo Tiange looked at him with a smile. "Ren Yufeng went through all that trouble to come here and even schemed to harm me. Would he do that without any benefit? If this is a sacrificial temple from millions of years ago, then it truly wouldn't have any Magical Treasures or spirit pills left. But it has the Breath of the Divine Dragon—a Breath of the Divine Dragon even denser than that of the Divine Dragon Stele!"
Hearing this, Jiang Shanghang's face gradually paled. "The Breath of the Divine Dragon? Is he trying to get himself killed?!"
Such immense power—how could minor Foundation Establishment cultivators like them dare to covet it? Such mysterious power from ancient times—not to mention them, even Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn't dare to dream of absorbing it! One must know that absorbing power beyond one's control would cause the body to explode and die!
"Perhaps he has some secret method." Mo Tiange frowned in thought. "What we know, Ren Yufeng couldn't possibly be unaware of. His scheming and his attitude clearly indicate his ambitions are great. Apart from the Breath of the Divine Dragon, what else could satisfy his demands?"
Jiang Shanghang said nothing more. This matter had exceeded his imagination. He had never thought Ren Yufeng would have such intentions, and he didn't know what to do. Coming to this Underground Palace, of course he wanted to seek treasures. But now, not only were there no treasures, there might even be calamity.
"Junior Brother Ye," Jiang Shanghang spoke after a long silence, "since there are no treasures, should we go back?"
Mentioning this, Mo Tiange also hesitated. She wanted to kill Ren Yufeng, but she didn't want to throw her life away. Who knew what method Ren Yufeng was using? If he succeeded and possessed the Breath of the Divine Dragon, his cultivation would surely increase greatly. Whether she could defeat him then was a question. If he failed and exploded and died, would the method he used have other effects? What if she got implicated?
The two pondered facing each other for a long time, both unable to decide.